My only intension is to try and explain what is involved in making Shop Drawings for Woodworking and Millwork Industries using several software, one being AutoCAD – my main tool. There is allot to plan, prepare and think about in order to make the best solution for yourself. There is no one way of doing this. In my 9 years of working for several companies that were making anything from Kitchen cabinets to entire kitchens, bathroom cabinets and all sorts of custom cabinets and millwork items, I used mostly AutoCAD but also SolidWorks, Cabinetware, SketchUp, Micrografx etc. All of them are fine and can do the job, but none are capable of satisfying all the aspects that are needed in the production and fabrication. Early enough I learnt that 3D AutoCAD is the way to go for me and that is the way I will talk about the most. If one does 3D drawings, in my opinion, it is no different then actually building those cabinets in the shop. One has to make sure to first understand the process and techniques involved in such production. Then one has to learn all the aspects of wood, veneer, hardware and other components of the trade and then, just then, one can start to think about Shop Drawings and what those drawings should tell us. Everything after this point will be my own opinion and experience in such procedures and techniques. I would like to believe that these pages will help not only a young person who is thinking about becoming a woodwork/ millwork draughter but even the veteran of the trade who will like to learn about AutoCAD and/or other software to maybe better their work and procedures. I would like to believe that my knowledge and experience can save time and get those end results just a little faster for someone in the “driving seat” in front of the computer trying their best to achieve some nice, meaningful drawings. Stay with me. Read all you can at Millwork Drawing. Ask questions. Give suggestions and I am sure we’ll all benefit from it.

It will be intersting to follow this blog, but I think it would take a huge shift in my thinking to switch back to AC after playing around with Sketchup. Don’t get me wrong I am not saying anything bad about AutoCAD, more of a comment on my level of patiences with software these days. Although watching my wife (who taught AutoCAD at our local community college pre- kids) and her frustration with SU was both amusing (please don’t tell her I said this) and an illustration of how different users see different software. She kept expecting SU to behave like AutoCAD and was having a very colourful conversation with the software when it wouldn’t behave like AutoCAD. Sorry I am just busting up here laughing remembering her cursing out SU …LOL!

-- "Checking for square? What madness is this! The cabinet is square because I will it to be so!" Jeremy Greiner LJ Topic#20953 2011 Feb 2